SpaceX's DragonLab

A depiction of the SpaceX DragonLab™ - a free-flying, fully-recoverable, reusable spacecraft capable of hosting pressurized and unpressurized payloads.

Dragon Spacecraft in a Hangar

Credit: Brian Attiyeh/SpaceX

The Dragon spacecraft is mounted on a fixture in the hangar at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Red Dragon May Go to Mars

Credit: SpaceX

This still from a SpaceX mission concept video shows a Dragon space capsule landing on the surface of Mars. SpaceX's Dragon is a privately built space capsule to carry unmanned payloads, and eventually astronauts, into space.

Dragon Capsule Earth Descent

Credit: SpaceX

This still from a SpaceX video shows the company's Dragon space capsule firing thrusters during a powered descent as it aims for a vertical landing at its launch site. The plan is part of SpaceX's vision for a completely reusable rocket and spacecraft.

Dragon Cargo Ship Approaches the International Space Station

Credit: SpaceX/NASA

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship approaches the International Space Station in this artist's illustration.

Dragon Crew and Cargo Capsules

How SpaceX's Dragon Space Capsule Works (Infographic)

Credit: Karl Tate/SPACE.com

A look inside the SpaceX Dragon capsule and its Falcon 9 rocket.

Dragon Spacecraft Thermal Testing Preparations

Credit: Roger Gilbertson/SpaceX

In a SpaceX clean room in Hawthorne (Los Angeles) California, technicians prepare the Dragon spacecraft for thermal vacuum chamber testing. The open bays will hold the parachutes. NASA has given us a launch date of Nov 30, 2011 for Falcon 9 Flight 3, which will send a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.

Separation Tests of the Dragon Trunk from the Falcon 9 Second Stage

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX conducted separation tests of the Dragon trunk from the Falcon 9 second stage. Release mechanisms hold the trunk (top, with solar panel covers on left and right sides) to the stage (bottom). When activated, springs on the Falcon 9 push against the Dragon trunk. The trunk separates and the test fixture’s counterbalance system raises the spacecraft up and away.

Dragon Solar Array Rotary Actuator

Credit: SpaceX

In the Hawthorne factory high bay, SpaceX tested the Dragon solar array rotary actuator by hanging the full array from the ceiling. The actuator (top center) turns the entire array. In flight, the solar panels will track the sun for maximum energy capture.

SpaceX Rocket Factory Collage

Credit: Roger Gilbertson/SpaceX

Upper left: First stage tank, with domes and barrels for the second stage. Upper right: All nine Merlin engines have been individually tested in Texas and then returned to California for integration into the thrust assembly. Lower left: Composite interstage structure that joins the stages. Lower right: The pressure vessel for the CRS-1 Dragon spacecraft has 10 cubic meters (350 cu ft) of interior volume.

Dragon Spacecraft After First Successful Orbital Flight.

Credit: SpaceX/Mike Altenhofen

Photo of actual Dragon spacecraft after its first successful orbital flight.

Dragon Spacecraft Landed in the Pacific Ocean

Credit: SpaceX/Dragon

The Dragon spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean 3 hours, 19 minutes and 52 seconds after liftoff—less than a minute after SpaceX had predicted and less than one mile from the center of the landing target.

COTS Demo 1 Mission Orbital Path

Credit: SpaceX

Image above illustrates COTS Demo 1 mission orbital path. The yellow triangle over the Atlantic ocean marks Dragon’s initial separation from Falcon 9, and the yellow square off the Western coast of the United States marks the location where Dragon landed.

Dragon Spacecraft Viewed from the Second Stage

Credit: SpaceX/Mike Altenhofen

High contrast view of the Dragon spacecraft (circle at center) viewed from the top of the second stage as it departs over the curved horizon of the Earth. The rectangles indicate locations of three of the nano satellite deploying P-PODs carried on this mission.

Dragon Spacecraft with Main Parachutes Deployed

Dragon's three main parachutes fully deployed. Below float two drogue parachutes which deployed first to slow and stabilize the spacecraft.

Falcon 9 Stage Separation

Credit: SpaceX/Dragon

After Falcon 9 stage separation, flames are barely visible around the nozzle as the second stage engine ignites and the first stage falls back to the Earth below.

Dragon Capsule Lifted onto Barge

Credit: SpaceX/Mike Altenhofen

The SpaceX crew brought Dragon back to the barge where the crane lifted it from the water.

Dragon Spacecraft in the SpaceX Hangar at Cape Canaveral

Credit: Michael Rooks/SpaceX

In the SpaceX hangar at Cape Canaveral, the Dragon spacecraft prepares for integration with the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Visible at the base of the spacecraft is Dragon’s heat shield, made of PICA-X, the SpaceX manufactured variation on NASA’s Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield material. Dragon will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere at around 7 kilometers per second (15,660 miles per hour), heating the exterior up to 1850 degrees Celsius. However, just a few inches of the PICA-X material will keep the interior of the spacecraft at a comfortable temperature.

SpaceX's Mission Control Center located at their headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

Astronauts Cady Coleman and Scott Kelly Visit the Dragon Capsule

Credit: SpaceX

Even when outfitted with the full cargo storage system, Dragon has plenty of room. Visiting NASA astronauts Cady Coleman and Scott Kelly discuss spacecraft cargo operations with SpaceX engineers. Both experienced space travelers, Cady and Scott are scheduled for upcoming missions to the ISS.

Walheim Inside Dragon

NASA astronaut Rex Walheim checks out SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which is under development for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Image released March 16, 2012.

Dragon Spacecraft Crew Accommodations Monitored

Credit: SpaceX

NASA astronauts and industry experts are monitored while they check out the crew accommodations in SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which is under development for NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). Image released March 16, 2012.

Loading Cargo into the Dragon Capsule

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX tweeted on April 22, 2012: "Another shot from cargo loading with @NASA in anticipation of the upcoming demo flight to the Space Station."

Workers Loading Cargo Aboard Dragon Capsule

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX tweeted on April 21, 2012: "Earlier this month we worked with @NASA to load cargo into Dragon in advance of our upcoming demo flight."

Dragon Crew Equipment Interface Test

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX tweeted on March 29, 2012: "Completed another key step on the road to our upcoming launch: Crew Equipment Interface Test at the Cape with @NASA."

Dragon Capsule Engineering Model

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX tweeted on March 21, 2012: "Check out our Dragon engineering model that's been equipped with seats and representations of crew systems."

SpaceX's DragonLab

A depiction of the SpaceX DragonLab™ - a free-flying, fully-recoverable, reusable spacecraft capable of hosting pressurized and unpressurized payloads.

Dragon Spacecraft in a Hangar

Credit: Brian Attiyeh/SpaceX

The Dragon spacecraft is mounted on a fixture in the hangar at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Red Dragon May Go to Mars

Credit: SpaceX

This still from a SpaceX mission concept video shows a Dragon space capsule landing on the surface of Mars. SpaceX's Dragon is a privately built space capsule to carry unmanned payloads, and eventually astronauts, into space.

Dragon Capsule Earth Descent

Credit: SpaceX

This still from a SpaceX video shows the company's Dragon space capsule firing thrusters during a powered descent as it aims for a vertical landing at its launch site. The plan is part of SpaceX's vision for a completely reusable rocket and spacecraft.

Dragon Cargo Ship Approaches the International Space Station

Credit: SpaceX/NASA

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship approaches the International Space Station in this artist's illustration.

Dragon Crew and Cargo Capsules

How SpaceX's Dragon Space Capsule Works (Infographic)

Credit: Karl Tate/SPACE.com

A look inside the SpaceX Dragon capsule and its Falcon 9 rocket.

Dragon Spacecraft Thermal Testing Preparations

Credit: Roger Gilbertson/SpaceX

In a SpaceX clean room in Hawthorne (Los Angeles) California, technicians prepare the Dragon spacecraft for thermal vacuum chamber testing. The open bays will hold the parachutes. NASA has given us a launch date of Nov 30, 2011 for Falcon 9 Flight 3, which will send a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.

Separation Tests of the Dragon Trunk from the Falcon 9 Second Stage

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX conducted separation tests of the Dragon trunk from the Falcon 9 second stage. Release mechanisms hold the trunk (top, with solar panel covers on left and right sides) to the stage (bottom). When activated, springs on the Falcon 9 push against the Dragon trunk. The trunk separates and the test fixture’s counterbalance system raises the spacecraft up and away.

Dragon Solar Array Rotary Actuator

Credit: SpaceX

In the Hawthorne factory high bay, SpaceX tested the Dragon solar array rotary actuator by hanging the full array from the ceiling. The actuator (top center) turns the entire array. In flight, the solar panels will track the sun for maximum energy capture.

SpaceX Rocket Factory Collage

Credit: Roger Gilbertson/SpaceX

Upper left: First stage tank, with domes and barrels for the second stage. Upper right: All nine Merlin engines have been individually tested in Texas and then returned to California for integration into the thrust assembly. Lower left: Composite interstage structure that joins the stages. Lower right: The pressure vessel for the CRS-1 Dragon spacecraft has 10 cubic meters (350 cu ft) of interior volume.

Dragon Spacecraft After First Successful Orbital Flight.

Credit: SpaceX/Mike Altenhofen

Photo of actual Dragon spacecraft after its first successful orbital flight.

Dragon Spacecraft Landed in the Pacific Ocean

Credit: SpaceX/Dragon

The Dragon spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean 3 hours, 19 minutes and 52 seconds after liftoff—less than a minute after SpaceX had predicted and less than one mile from the center of the landing target.

COTS Demo 1 Mission Orbital Path

Credit: SpaceX

Image above illustrates COTS Demo 1 mission orbital path. The yellow triangle over the Atlantic ocean marks Dragon’s initial separation from Falcon 9, and the yellow square off the Western coast of the United States marks the location where Dragon landed.

Dragon Spacecraft Viewed from the Second Stage

Credit: SpaceX/Mike Altenhofen

High contrast view of the Dragon spacecraft (circle at center) viewed from the top of the second stage as it departs over the curved horizon of the Earth. The rectangles indicate locations of three of the nano satellite deploying P-PODs carried on this mission.

Dragon Spacecraft with Main Parachutes Deployed

Dragon's three main parachutes fully deployed. Below float two drogue parachutes which deployed first to slow and stabilize the spacecraft.

Falcon 9 Stage Separation

Credit: SpaceX/Dragon

After Falcon 9 stage separation, flames are barely visible around the nozzle as the second stage engine ignites and the first stage falls back to the Earth below.

Dragon Capsule Lifted onto Barge

Credit: SpaceX/Mike Altenhofen

The SpaceX crew brought Dragon back to the barge where the crane lifted it from the water.

Dragon Spacecraft in the SpaceX Hangar at Cape Canaveral

Credit: Michael Rooks/SpaceX

In the SpaceX hangar at Cape Canaveral, the Dragon spacecraft prepares for integration with the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Visible at the base of the spacecraft is Dragon’s heat shield, made of PICA-X, the SpaceX manufactured variation on NASA’s Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield material. Dragon will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere at around 7 kilometers per second (15,660 miles per hour), heating the exterior up to 1850 degrees Celsius. However, just a few inches of the PICA-X material will keep the interior of the spacecraft at a comfortable temperature.

SpaceX's Mission Control Center located at their headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

Astronauts Cady Coleman and Scott Kelly Visit the Dragon Capsule

Credit: SpaceX

Even when outfitted with the full cargo storage system, Dragon has plenty of room. Visiting NASA astronauts Cady Coleman and Scott Kelly discuss spacecraft cargo operations with SpaceX engineers. Both experienced space travelers, Cady and Scott are scheduled for upcoming missions to the ISS.

Walheim Inside Dragon

NASA astronaut Rex Walheim checks out SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which is under development for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Image released March 16, 2012.

Dragon Spacecraft Crew Accommodations Monitored

Credit: SpaceX

NASA astronauts and industry experts are monitored while they check out the crew accommodations in SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which is under development for NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). Image released March 16, 2012.

Loading Cargo into the Dragon Capsule

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX tweeted on April 22, 2012: "Another shot from cargo loading with @NASA in anticipation of the upcoming demo flight to the Space Station."

Workers Loading Cargo Aboard Dragon Capsule

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX tweeted on April 21, 2012: "Earlier this month we worked with @NASA to load cargo into Dragon in advance of our upcoming demo flight."

Dragon Crew Equipment Interface Test

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX tweeted on March 29, 2012: "Completed another key step on the road to our upcoming launch: Crew Equipment Interface Test at the Cape with @NASA."

Dragon Capsule Engineering Model

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX tweeted on March 21, 2012: "Check out our Dragon engineering model that's been equipped with seats and representations of crew systems."